I have a confession: I only really care about Ayumi and Takaya's relationship, ergo 4 stars for this volume because they're finally getting somewhere.

I LOVE MISAKI AND SHIMURA SO MUCH. Definitely my favorite couple!! They're so weird.

Also Kai is so stupid, but so fucking cute!! I feel like the deeper stuff is kind of half-assed sometimes, but it still works and I enjoy it.

*upon receiving this volume* Yay! I can't wait to get started! *finishes volume, proceeds to cry joyful tears while throwing up rainbows*

I could just leave my review at that, but there are definitely a couple things I want to discuss in more detail, so without further ado, let's get started!

I was holding my breath while reading about Shimura and Taka's dilemma. What I liked about it, as cliched as it was, was that Shimura and Taka CLEARLY have a deeper connection and this doesn't feel forced. I also like that Shimura's research guide and her need to learn more about Taka's feelings doesn't feel out of place, more so that this chapter is highlighting her desire for knowledge and her love of research. I also greatly appreciate how she's clearly meant to be the "super smart but dense at love" character, but she isn't characterized as a FUCKING ROBOT. Instead, she's bubbly, easily excited, strong-willed, and genuinely kind and caring. HOLY FUCK, what a breath of fresh air she is in regards to this trope, SERIOUSLY. Taka's anger at Shimura wanting to break up is reasonable as well and his actions leading up to that initial question don't seem out of place and reinforces why these two are perfect for each other. Loved the whole thing, it was expertly handled and it made my heart swell tenfold.

Going off of that whole situation, I was intrigued by Shimura's past in terms of how she retained her love for exploring and research while her female classmates moved on to boys. I found it interesting that when Shimura wants to talk about snails to her female classmates, one of them comments something along the lines of "Don't you think they're more important things to think about?" then proceeds to ogle a guy. I think was a simple yet effective way of showing this shift in teenage "priorities". Yes, on the surface it seems that Shimura's interest in the snails she found was not important, but quite frankly neither was the guy the classmate was swooning over. I don't know, I just really liked it and it home to me, as someone who has always been more interested in literature and nature than trends and boys (not that I wasn't obsessively thinking about dating at their age, I was a hormonal teen after all).

That final chapter. OH MY GOSH, that final chapter had me in tears, I love Riko and Ichinose's relationship! They are so good for each other and GOOD TO each other and it just makes me so damn happy. I loved seeing them interact with Ichinose's niece and nephew and their date was so cute. Seriously, most of my rainbow throw-ups came from their date and the volume's ending.

That's about all I want to discuss. I look forward to reading each new installment of this series and am so in love with it I can't handle it. Looking forward to volume 9!

This is going to ramble so I'm sorry. I'm just throwing thoughts out there.....

Earlier, I felt a little weird about Taka's past love interest, ngl. I know it happens irl and I've read other books where the subject is brought up. In some romance novels, it even takes center stage and IS the plot. But I still feel hinky about it unless it's in some *VERY* specific situations. His was not one of the situations.

Anyway, I still think Taka's a good guy and deserves love! I'm just not sure about pairing him with Shimura. I mean, I can see the personalities meshing well but that can also be said about amazing platonic relationships. They have a beautiful give-and-take thing growing and I like seeing how Taka's steadiness pulls back Shimura's over-excited quest for knowledge. However, both Shimura and Taka are very analytical (as evidenced by what Shimura gives Taka after his pronouncement) so I wonder how "romantic" a relationship can be between them.

Not saying that these types of relationships don't exist or aren't great pairings! I'm just curious to see if that type of thing can be translated well enough on paper to pull heart strings. After all, isn't that why we read these types of manga?

Guess I'll have to wait and see how it progresses.

I’m not crying you’re crying

Kai and Riko have another date and things don't go as planned --Kai takes his nephews to the movies and park with Riko. Taka confesses to Shimura who freaks out --she isn't sure she has feelings like others do (ace?) but they agree to continue as is for the time being to see if feelings develop.

I really like Misaki-kun but his and Shimura relationship is a bit strange. I'm not sure why maybe they don't relate very well. But they are two fun characters.

Kai and Riko's date was very insightful. I thought it was going to be a bust then it turns out it was the perfect date to get to know one another. I still always wait for her to go all whoop ass on someone thought. ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ